


Maggie's Secret

by crippling_depression



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, aka the one where maggie has a trans brother
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-22
Updated: 2018-01-12
Packaged: 2018-09-11 02:04:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 15,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8949424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crippling_depression/pseuds/crippling_depression
Summary: After almost a month of dating, things are going great and for the first time ever, Alex feels happy. Genuinely happy and everything is perfect. Until one afternoon. 
Or, Maggie is acting shady and Alex wants to know what's up.





	1. Alex pt. 1

Alex reached into her pocket and looked at Maggie's contact and hesitated. Even after dating for a month she still gets butterflies before she calls her girlfriend. Finally pressing it, and hearing two rings she's delighted by Maggie's voice.

"Hey Danvers," she can practically hear her girlfriend smiling on the other end.

"Hey, babe. You wanna grab lunch?"

"I wish I could but they've got me glued to my desk today, I don't think I'll be able to slip away. But I'll make it up to you tonight."

"Oh my god, Maggie you can't just say that stuff at work!" Alex retorted with a hushed tone.

The detective laughs, "I meant I'm cooking tonight. But we could do that too."

They chat for a few more minutes until Alex receives a call from her sister, cutting their conversation short. What they were saying was meaningless but they both just enjoyed the others voice. Alex tried to hide her disappointment when saying goodbye. She answered Kara's call with her standard "Agent Danvers."

—

After hearing about how incompetent Mon-el was for an hour, the DEO agent decided she needed some lunch and her girlfriend. So she decided a surprise visit to the NCPD office was in order.

Alex arrived with two burgers and a large fry to split and was a little confused when she saw Maggie's desk empty. When she looked around and didn't see her, she asked one of the other officers.

"Hey, Gonzales. Is Sawyer around?" She asked with slight concern in her voice.

Without looking up from his paperwork he replied, "Nope. She just said she's going out for lunch."

"Oh." Alex said simply. Her mind raced with all of the worst scenarios. But she reminded herself that there was no reason not to trust Maggie. Something just probably came up, or she got a break from her paperwork. Everything was fine. Or so she kept telling herself. She climbed out of her thoughts enough to speak again. "Here Gonzales." She said dropping the bag of food on his desk. Her appetite was suddenly gone.

—

When Alex got back in the car, her mind was filled with curiosity. Seemingly on a whim, she decided to call the detective. "Sawyer." Was all she got for a greeting. 

"Hey mags, still glued to the desk?" 

"Yup, chief's hounding us to get these reports in order before some higher ups paid us a visit."

"Oh okay well... I was just wondering if I needed to bring something tonight. Like, beer?"

"Yeah beer sounds great. Sorry babe I gotta go, Gonzales is giving me dirty looks." Her rushed response and quick hang up was the second red flag from that conversation. Alex knew she should trust her girlfriend but things just feel too shady. She's hiding something big but what?

———

She knew it was wrong, that she should just ask Maggie, but Alex did it anyway. She borrowed Winn's computer skills and made it so Alex could track her girlfriends phone. Everywhere she went was documented on her own. God she felt bad but she had to know where Maggie was going that was bad she had to lie about it. 

Everything is completely normal for two days, until Alex watches the little green blip move to an unfamiliar neighborhood. A neighborhood that's been deemed "bad" or "poor" by the snobby 1% of national city. The green dot stops at a building and stays there for a considerable amount of time. Alex writes down the address and looks into it. She finds it to be an apartment complex. Kara's words of "Just ask her" bounce around her head and she pushes them down and replaces them with her own thoughts of "she's just doing her job." 

Two days later she sees the dot go to the same building. For the same amount of time. Alex tries to keep a level head and think rationally, but she can't completely write off her first thought of "she's cheating." She needed to know. 

Two days later, the DEO agent used her lunch break to go down to the apartment building in question and asked her sister to meet her in the small park a block away. 

"What's the emergency?" Kara flew down and landed next to her sister, the concern clear on her face.

"I think Maggie's cheating."

"Did you ask her where she's been going?"

"No. But it's suspicious as hell." So Alex relays every detail to her sister and is met back with an unreadable face. 

"Alex that's so bad, you did a bad thing!" 

"I know but—"

"But nothing. You just have to trust Maggie enough to ask her." Alex can't believe she let herself go this crazy for this girl. But the awareness of the crazy didn't make it go away. She needed one more thing and then she could put it to rest and just talk to her girlfriend. 

"I need you to use your super hearing and x-ray to see what Maggie is doing in there and before you say no, just remember you owe at least one favor." She can't believe the words coming out of her own mouth.

"Fine." Kara agreed very hesitantly. "But this is it. I can't be involved in your love life like this anymore." The kryptonians face scrunched up in concentration for only a few seconds before she let out a horrible gasp that made Alex's stomach drop. Kara said in a flabbergasted tone "She's cheating on you!!" 

"What?! Really?!" Alex's head was spinning, thinking a mile a minute before Kara's next words brought her back to earth.

"No dummy. But you really should just. ask. her." The last three words were accompanied by small pokes to the shoulder.


	2. Maggie pt. 1

Maggie looked at the clock and started packing her stuff up. On her way out, she sees a familiar face with a file on the front desk. Only she didn't know this person from a mugshot, but from her past. 

"Where is he now?" She asks the officer at the front desk, as she holds the mugshot in her hand.

"They're questioning him now."

"Can I see his full file?"

———

She's driving cautiously through the familiar neighborhood. She worked this area when she was just a rookie and she knows it well. Looking at the address she wrote down the night before she compared it to the number on the door in front of her. She knocked hard, like she was trained to do in the academy, and heard a "just a second" from inside.

A skinny, shirtless man opened the door and was greeted by a hand slapping him upside the head. "Ow! Good to see you too mags."

"Why the hell did I see your mugshot before I saw you?!" The detective started.

"I've been busy," he gestured to the scars on his chest. 

"You couldn't have called while you were laid up? Shot me a text saying 'hey I just moved back in town'? Instead I have to find out my baby brother is back in town from his fucking mugshot?" She said as she waved the picture around. She took a second and just sighed before continuing with softer tones, "you know I care about you, Parker. I know being 19 you know it all but I still wanna be there for you."

The guilt swept over his face and caused him to do something he hadn't done in three years; he bend down a little and hugged his big sister. "I'm sorry. I should've called," he let go and walked over to sit on the couch. He invited her to join him.

They spent the next hour trying to fill each other in on what was missed over the course of three years and they only scratched the surface. Their conversation was cut short by a phone call from Alex. She couldn't pay attention to what exactly her girlfriend was saying. She hadn't told him about Alex yet and she didn't know when she would. 

"I gotta go, P. Can we finish this same time tomorrow?"

"I can't I have class tomorrow. But I can do Wednesday!" 

"Yeah Wednesday will work. I'll see you then, stop getting arrested." She called out as she head out the door.

He yelled back "you still sound like mom!"

———

When Maggie got back to the station, she felt good. She's still pissed that her brother got picked up but she missed him all the same. When he came out as trans, their parents didn't take it well. He was kicked out and went radio silent from 16 to now, 19. She felt awful that she couldn't be there for her brother, but she didn't know he was kicked out until a month after it went down. The detective tried to find him for a year, with no success. So she gave up. God damn it why did she give up? She kicked herself for letting him go.

Maggie couldn't even imagine how he could afford top surgery and testosterone, they didn't get that far into the conversation. She sat at her desk looking over the report from Parker's arrest and the more she read, the more pissed she got. The gist was that a man that was around 5'9 with black hair, wearing a black hoodie robbed a gas station. Officer Cooke was sweeping the streets as Parker was walking home from work, he had a solid alibi but they still kept him for hours.

"Cooke! What is this?" Standing up, she stopped the man walking by her desk and gestured to the file.

"I brought in the wrong person, so what?"

"You kept him in holding for hours. Even after his solid alibi was confirmed by multiple third party witnesses." She was getting more irritated.

He responded with a scoff, "you should be thanking me. Because of me, that he-she was off the streets for a few extra hours." 

Before she could stop herself, Maggie Sawyer punched Officer Nathan Cooke square in the jaw. He fell to the floor and cupped his own face while Maggie shook out her hand. Her knuckles were for sure gonna be bruised. She was surprised at her own actions and was proud of what she did... for about five seconds before she heard "SAWYER! COOKE! GET THE HELL IN HERE!"

———

"Desk duty?!"

"Yeah you're lucky I don't take your badge." The chief was a rough, no nonsense man. "That little stunt was completely outta line and you know it. I expect you to have a level head, Sawyer, or else you'll kill some of my men out in the field. So yeah I'm keeping you at that desk."

Maggie understood, and was grateful it wasn't worse, but she was still pissed "How long?" 

"Two weeks and then we'll see if you're fit for field duty. And suck it up Cooke, or I'll make it even. You both got work to do so get out of my face."  
They both got up and walked out. When they they turned the corner, Maggie whispered "I think I made you look better."

———

After a week and a half of meeting with Parker during her lunch break she decided that she's gonna tell him about Alex. She knocked on the door and heard an "it's open!" After walking in and sitting next to her brother, she couldn't help but say something. "That's really unsafe."

He responded with a very mature "your face is unsafe." After chatting for a few minutes, the conversation went quiet. "So I met a girl." Maggie broke the silence with the announcement. 

"Ayee that's awesome Mags, is this one a keeper?"

"Well it's been pretty perfect for a month now so yeah I'd say she is." 

"You've been with her a month and I'm just now hearing about it?!" He overplayed the hurt in his voice. Always the drama king. "So when am I meeting her?" 

Maggie suddenly got nervous at the idea of her girlfriend and her brother meeting. What if they don't like each other? She just got Parker back she can't lose him again. "I don't know," she replied, her voice much less confident than a few seconds before, "I haven't even told her about you yet. But she has been acting a little off lately so maybe now isn't the right time."

"Okay... well tell me about her."

Maggie started gushing about how pretty and smart and badass her girlfriend was before hearing a faint, familiar woosh. But she continued her loving rant for maybe 30 minutes straight and that's when Parker knew that this girl was different from Maggie's exes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know! I'm sorry there hasn't been a lot of Alex and Maggie but I needed to introduce Parker and reveal what Kara saw this chapter. As always, I really appreciate comments and suggestions.


	3. Chapter 3

That night, Maggie and Alex were on the couch watching another episode of American Horror Story. The shorter woman's feet were propped up on the coffee table while the DEO agent was resting her head on her lap. There was a comfortable silence between them as they watched the tv. Abruptly, Alex paused what they were watching, sat up and looked at her girlfriend, trying to work up the courage to ask something. She let out a big sigh before speaking, "where have you been going during your lunch break?"

Maggie was taken aback by the forwardness of the question, "I'm sorry, what?"

"You've gone out to the same apartment building almost everyday during your lunch break and you've been lying and so if your cheating on me Maggie please just tell me because I can't stand this feeling of not knowing anymore." She let it all out in one, rushed breath and it took a second for Maggie to process all that just got dropped on her in the last three seconds.

"You tracked me?" Is all she could reply with.

"You're not denying it."

"Denying what? That I'm cheating? Alex, do you really think I could do that to you?" The hurt on her face and in her voice is overwhelming, "do you honestly not trust me enough—"

"I do trust you Maggie, but god. I can't— I don't know. I guess I got paranoid. But you lied to me about something and I don't know what. What are you hiding?" Alex's eyes started watering. She hated crying in front of people especially when she's trying to get answers. 

Maggie was trying to figure out what to do. She didn't know how to go about this. Should she just say it or ease into it or have them meet for dinner? Should she even tell her at all? She just looked at Alex, not finding the right words, until Alex broke the silence. "Right. I get it." Is all she said before grabbing her bag and walking towards the door.

"Alex, wait!" 

"Are you going to tell me?"

"I can't..." Maggie mustered up above a whisper.

"Well then call me when you can." Alex spat, a little more harsh than she meant. She stormed out of the apartment, leaving Maggie standing alone in the middle of her living room.

———

It's been two days and Alex has been radio silent, Maggie would think the DEO agent was in trouble if Kara wasn't keeping her in the loop. This was their first real fight and Maggie knows it was her fault. She was pulled out of her thoughts by her phone ringing. Without hesitation, she answered it, expecting it to be Alex. "Hello?" She said with a little bit too much enthusiasm. 

"Hey can I use your shower? A pipe burst here and I've got class in about an hour." Maggie would be lying if she said she wasn't a little disappointed to hear Parker's voice instead of her girlfriend's.

"Yeah, sure I'll text you the address." 

About twenty minutes later she heard a knock on the door and greeted her brother. 

"Down the hall, on the left."

"You're a god damn life saver." He said before rushing past her and into the bathroom. 

After ten minutes, Maggie heard another unexpected knock on her door. When she opened it, she froze at the sight of Alex. 

"Hey..." they both said awkwardly before Maggie opened the door wider, inviting Alex in, not even thinking about who was in her bathroom.

"I'm ready to talk. And I mean really talk, if you're willing to, that is," Alex proposed.

"Yeah I'd like that. Dinner tonight?" Before Alex could answer, they both heard the shower turn off down the hall, and Maggie started mentally kicking herself for forgetting so easily and silently panicking.

"What... uh..." Alex started but didn't get to finish before Parker emerged from the bathroom, of course, shirtless. When he saw Alex, he froze like a deer in the headlights. Must be the default Sawyer response to seeing Alex Danvers. After realizing who he was looking at, he offered his charming grin and extended a hand.

"Parker Jamie Sawyer, and you must be the gal pal I've been hearing so much about."

Alex accepted the polite handshake, slowly. Confusion and shock written all over her face and Maggie could just see all of the questions swirling around in her head. Parker quickly put on the t-shirt in his other hand and grabbed the backpack he arrived with.

"As much as I'd love to stay and chat about..." he vaguely gestured around the room "...this, I've got a geography test on the other side of town in about thirty minutes. I'll text you later, Mags. Thanks for letting me use your shower!" He threw over his shoulder as he walked out the door, leaving the two women to talk.

As soon as the door shut, Alex spoke, "So that's your big secret?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it was short and I haven't updated in forever. Feel free to yell at me in the comments or on tumblr: @whatever-queer 
> 
> Side note: I imagine Parker looks like @nickcamryn on instagram


	4. Chapter 4

"Who was that kid?" Alex asked. Her tone was softer than last night, less accusatory, and yet it still had that signature DEO harshness to it that meant business.

"I'm gonna be late for work." Maggie replied. She really didn't want to push this conversation to later but she REALLY didn't want to be late for work. She was already on thin ice with the chief, even though she can work in the field again.

"You can't keep avoiding this!" Alex all but yelled.

"Dinner. Tonight. I mean it, I'll pick you up at 8."

Alex sighed, but agreed when she heard the sincerity in Maggie's voice. "I'll explain it all," she continued, "I'm not gonna drop all of this on you before you have to work." 

Alex just gave a defeated, "okay." And left.

Maggie grabbed her phone as soon as the door shut and tapped her most recent caller and held the phone to her ear while she gathered what she needed for work.

Voicemail. Of course. Must be driving. -beep- "Hey, thanks for dropping that bomb on my girlfriend, really gave her a great first impression, I'm sure. Look, if you're not busy tonight, let's grab dinner at 8, I'll text you the address. Let me know if you can make it and call me when you get this." Maggie thought for a second, trying to remember if she needed to say anything else, "and good luck on that test, kid." With that she ended the call and headed out the door.

———

"Alex you're late..." Kara weakly stated with an ounce of confusion. She was leaning against Winn's desk, dressed in her supergirl garbs. 

"Yeah I had to swing by Maggie's apartment." 

"Oh? How'd that go?"

"Weird. Like really weird and I don't know how to feel about... everything. I wish you would just tell me what you heard and saw the other day."

"Why? What happened?" Kara tried to play innocent and oblivious.

"Well we're going to dinner to—"

"That's great!"

"Talk about why there was a teenage boy in her apartment who had to use her shower." Alex expected Kara to be surprised but the look on her face was more like relieved. "You knew about him? Who is he?"

"Oh. You'll find out tonight, I guess and besides, it's not really my place to say." Alex rolled her eyes but understood.

"Agent Danvers, I need you to assemble a strike team to take care of the most recent Cadmus house immediately." J'onn directed. And just like that, Alex Danvers switched to Agent Danvers.

The raid was a success with only two DEO agents barely wounded, a salvageable hard drive, and six low level Cadmus agents in their custody. And Alex was finally able to leave work by 6:30.

At at ten to eight, Alex opened her door and had to contain her excitement. 'Remember: you're mad at her, Danvers,' she reminded herself.

"Hey, ready to go?" Maggie sounded like everything was normal, like it was just another date night, like there wasn't some mystery kid in her apartment this morning. 

"Yeah. Just let me grab my jacket."

———

They arrived at their favorite hole in the wall hipster restaurant. It was nothing fancy but they had been there enough that it felt like it was theirs. 

When they walked in, Parker had already grabbed a table and was smiling at his phone. 

"Who's got you grinning like an idiot, P?" His sister asked. He turned the screen towards her so she could read it. "Supergirl? Really?"

"What? She's awesome. I'd like to see you save a plane." He stood and held out his hand to Alex (who was weakly hiding her pride for her sister), much like this morning. "We weren't formally introduced. I'm Parker..."

"...My brother." Maggie finished. Alex's face lit up at the news. Maggie has a brother. 

"Alex Danvers, this one's girlfriend." She gestured to Maggie and Maggie blushed slightly, dimples on full display. "Should we order?"

"Oh, yeah I'm starving!" Parker agreed and heard Maggie chuckle. "What? A boys gotta eat."

They ordered and shared stories and just talked. The conversation was so easy, for which Alex was grateful for. A couple times throughout the night, she found herself just watching and taking in the siblings interactions. It was refreshing and heartwarming to see the bond between them. 'Is that how people see Kara and I?' She wondered. 

By the end of dinner, Parker had put away an entire pizza by himself. "Oh god, you should meet my sister!" Alex joked but the young man got excited, "Hell yeah! The more the merrier! Bring her around the next time!" Alex liked the idea of next time.

———

Alex and Maggie were sitting on the couch when Maggie spoke. "We're okay, right? Because I don't want this whole thing to hurt our relationship." 

"Yeah. We're okay. But if you ever pull that shit again, I don't know if I'll stick around." 

"I get that. So... Parker..."

"Oh my god he's the best. Clearly I chose the wrong Sawyer," Alex joked and Maggie pushed her shoulder.

"Yeah too bad you're a lesbian," Maggie shot back with a smile so bright it put the stars to shame.

"Oh, and him and Kara,"

"They're two peas in a pod! They're gonna get along so well."

"He is so invited to game night next week. And Parker Jamie. Anyone call him PJ?"

"God, no. He hates that nickname." A silence fell between them that was broken by Alex softly saying, "I'm really glad we went to dinner."

"Me too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in a weekend? It's almost like I'm supposed to be writing an essay or something... Also, thank you so much for every kudos and comment!! It means so much!  
> As always my Tumblr is @whatever-queer
> 
> Also I'd really appreciate comments telling me what you'd like to see in the future chapters!


	5. Chapter 5

The Sawyer siblings were driving to Kara's apartment as they went through the check list.

"Okay one more time: James and Lucy."

"Small military lawyer and her tall photographer boyfriend." Parker recalled the flashcards Alex prepared. Maggie was right: her girlfriend is a nerd.

"Kara Danvers." Maggie continued.

"Our hostess for the night, sister of Alex Danvers, the human embodiment of sunshine, reporter for Catco."

"Good. Winn Schott."

"Uh..." He tried to put the name with the description Alex provided, "OH! Computer guy! Super smart with the tech."

Maggie put the car in park. "Yes!" They high fived, "And you already know Alex but I have a new addition to the guest list: Lena Luthor."

His eyes got wide and he chuckled, thinking it was a joke, when he saw his sister's face, she knew she wasn't joking. "Woah what Lena Luthor is gonna be there? Like THE Lena Luthor? Like the CEO from L-Corp? I followed her brother's case real close last year."

"Don't mention her brother or her mother or anything Luthor. Just treat her like you would treat any one of my friend." Maggie said as she turned off the car, unbuckled her seatbelt, and got out before Parker had a chance to respond.

Alone in the passenger seat for just a moment, Parker took a deep breath and said to himself, "yeah. Okay. Just like anyone else." He followed his sister's actions and they headed up to the apartment. Parker took in everything around him because he never really occupied this part of town. Everything looked so expensive. Between the cost of school, rent, food, and meds, he didn't have much left to spend. There's no way he could afford anything in this neighborhood.

———

They were standing in front of the door and Maggie was about to knock but Parker grabbed her wrist before she could. "What if they hate me?"

"They're gonna love you. Trust me. Just be cool."

Parker blew out another deep breath before shaking out the nerves a little and repeating Maggie's word to himself "okay. Just be cool, you can do this."

Maggie barely knocked before the door flew open, revealing Kara, Parker recognized her from the flashcards. He noted that her smile was so vibrant and genuine that it made his nerves melt instantly.

"Maggie! Come on in and this is..." Kara wanted someone to formally introduce the strange kid now standing in her apartment entryway. Without missing a beat, a hand was extended to her.

"Parker Jaime Sawyer. It's very nice to meet you "

Kara's eyes lit up a little and Alex recognized it as her 'I have an idea' face. "Can I call you PJ?"

"Sure!" Parker said at the same time Maggie said no. Maggie looked at her brother confused. "But you hate that nickname."

"What? No I don't." Parker was only really convincing Kara.

Maggie let it go after a quiet "okay weirdo."

Parker brought his attention back to Kara as she spoke again, "Well PJ, why don't you meet the rest of the gang?"

Parker politely introduced himself to Winn, Lucy, and James. The five of them talked while Alex and Maggie watch the interaction between them. The detective saw her brother say something then the group all let out a genuine laugh and Maggie couldn't help but proudly grin from the kitchen. "He's not doing too bad, huh?" Alex said as she nudged her girlfriend, pulling Maggie's focus away from her brother.

"Yeah, you were right. I guess I had nothing to worry about. Oh, and thanks for the flash cards. I think it really helped Parker with his nerves."

Now it was Alex's turn to proudly smile, "anytime, babe." She said before giving Maggie a quick kiss, which was immediately ruined by Kara yelling from the living room.

"AH! I saw that! Two dollars in the kiss jar!"

"Oh come on. That was totally just a peck!" Alex argued.

"No I'm with Kara on this one, that was totally a two dollar kiss." Winn jumped in.

Alex opened her mouth to counter but decided it wasn't worth the fight. So she took out two dollars from her wallet and put it in the jar on the small table next to the couch as everyone watched.

Their attention went from Alex to Parker as the boy interjected. "What just happened?"

"Oh yeah." Kara filled the younger Sawyer in, "Alex and Maggie were kissing so much that we had to make a 'kiss jar' for them. $1 for a peck, $2 for a regular kiss and $10 if anyone catches them making out." Kara glared at her sister and Maggie while stating the last point, before shuddering away a clearly traumatic memory.

"What the fuck? That's amazing." Parker didn't even try to hide his amusement.

"Swear jar." Everyone said in unison, pointing to another jar half filled with single dollar bills.

Parker took out a dollar and drug his feet to the jar and grumbled under his breath, "How many jars does this chick have?"

———

Only thirty minutes after the Parker and Maggie arrived, there was a knock on the door. "Oh! That must be Lena!" Kara sprung up from her spot next to, the now wide eyed, Parker and nearly skipped to the door. The door opened to reveal one Lena Luthor. Parker stood up from the couch as casually as he could and raced to his sister, now internally panicking.

"What do I do? Am I supposed to introduce myself right now? I don't want to overwhelm her and like pounce on her. I should let her settle in before I talk to her or better yet, let Kara introduce us and-" he rambled nervously and hushed until his sister grabbed one of his shoulders.

"P, We talked about this. Don't treat her any different."

"But she is different!"

"What did I tell you at the door?"

"Just be cool."

"And what are you doing right now?"

"Not being cool."

"Bingo. Just let things happen naturally."

"Okay yeah I can do that. Just need some liquid courage." He reached for Maggie's beer. His hand was swatted away and he was slapped upside the head all in one fell swoop.

"I'm a cop, dummy. So, reach for booze again and you'll be losing that hand," Maggie pointed sternly.

"I think that's police brutality." At this point Parker wasn't even paying attention to Lena, which was a mistake because as soon as he forgot about why he was nervous, Kara was making her way over with Lena. "And you already know Maggie, but this is her brother, PJ."

Maggie tipped her bottle to the new arrival, who extended a hand to the younger Sawyer, who took it with a little to much enthusiasm.

"Hi, I'm Parker. It's very nice to meet you I'm a big fan of you and your business and all that you're doing qand I've been shaking your hand for a little too long." He rushed out and dropped the handshake, "sorry."

Lena just gave him a weird look and walked away to join the others in the living room. "Now game night can officially start!" Kara said.

Maggie looked at her with a nod and told her "We'll be over in a sec," and leaned into Parker to whisper, "You're really bad at being cool." She walked away with a shit eating grin.

"Okay! What are we playing?"

"Well it was Winn's turn to pick and he chose Risk, so we have to pair off." Kara explained, Alex and Maggie were obviously a team, as were James and Lucy. Kara bumped Parker's shoulder, "PJ, why don't you be on my team?" He swears that suggestion earned him a little glare from Lena before Winn saved him. "Really? Lena and I? Wow you must really want to lose tonight, Danvers."

And with that, the night of competitive banter was kicked off. Alex and Maggie were lucky at the beginning of the game but quickly lost their lead to Lena and Winn. James and Lucy were the first ones out because they kept playing with the little guys and not paying attention to the game. Kara and Parker were a tough competition for Lena and Winn and eventually came out on top. The four remaining players yelled as the dream team, as they call themselves, rolled what they needed to finally destroy their opponents and high fived enthusiastically.

It was a solid high five that had Parker shaking out his hand in pain. "You are so strong! What is your workout routine, dude?" He joked and laugh as Kara tried to apologize and help him, "Let me just grab something cold to help with the pain." Kara led him to the freezer and opened it up. When his eyes landed on the contents of the freezer, he couldn't help but laugh again. "No judgement Kara, but who needs that much ice cream?" He gasped dramatically when he saw the flavor in front, "is that brownie rocky road?"

"Yeah it's like the best ice cream in the entire galaxy!"

"I know! But Maggie hates it!"

At this point, Maggie had to defend herself, "There's just too much going on in one flavor."

"That's what makes it the best!" Kara said as if it was common knowledge to everyone. She grabbed a bag of frozen peas for Parker's hand.

"Yeah, duh, Maggie." Parker teased his sister as she threw an m&m at him, which he caught in his mouth. That elicited a round of various hyped noises from everyone who saw and another, softer high five from Kara. Parker didn't miss how Lena rolled her eyes and suddenly things started making sense.

———

After Lena and Winn destroyed everyone else in a game of Monopoly, the group just started chatting and the night started dying down. Lucy and James were the first to leave, followed by Winn. Lena and Parker helped Kara clean up and watch over drunk Alex and Maggie. After everything was cleaned up, Parker headed out the door with his sister and her girlfriend.

"And you're sure you'll be okay?" Kara asked.

"Yeah I'll just take them to Maggie's place and they'll be fine. But I was serious about lunch tomorrow," Lena scoffed ever so slightly at Parker's invitation, "we got some stuff to talk about."

"Okay just let me know the time and place. And text me when you get these two home safe."

He shot some finger guns in Kara's direction "Will do. It was nice meeting you, Lena!" He yelled over his shoulder, half carrying Maggie, while Alex sloppily walked behind them to Maggie's car.

About 20 minutes later, Kara recieved a text.

**PJ(11:58pm):** Home safe :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, come talk to me on tumblr (@whatever-queer) if you want
> 
> *Special thanks to Riles (@androgynouscatwasteland on tumblr) for giving me that real time validation*


	6. Chapter 6

Parker woke up on Maggie's couch and looked around for his phone. When he pressed the home button, his phone lit up to reveal 10:48am. He sprung up and looked around the apartment, getting his bearings. He looked down the hall to the master bedroom and noticed that the door was opened and the lights were off so, not home. A note on the coffee table caught his eye, which read, "Left for work, cereal is in the cupboard, call me when you see this -Maggie" He quickly tapped on his phone and called his sister, who picked up after only on ring.

"Hey, P. Are you just waking up?"

"Yeah..." he rubbed the back of his neck, "but in my defense, your couch is so comfy."

Maggie chuckled, "I know. That's why I bought it. What do you have going on today?"

"Not much. Just meeting Kara for lunch at noon. Then I've got work from 2 to 10, why?"

"Oh never mind then. I was gonna invite you to dinner but you've got work so maybe tomorrow," Maggie was actually a little disappointed. She's really loved spending time with her brother and how he's become apart of her life again. But she changed the subject to hide that disappointment, "Where do you work again?"

"That auto repair shop that's a few blocks from my place. Over by where I got picked up. It's called Red's if you ever have a problem with your bike."

"I'll keep that in mind. I gotta get back to work, but make sure to lock my place on your way out. You have your key, right?"

"Always," he smiled and though she can't see him jingling his keys for emphasis, she can definitely hear it, "I might be able to do dinner tomorrow, but I don't know. It all depends on how much homework I get. My statistics teacher likes to go heavy on Tuesdays so we'll see."

They were saying goodbye as Parker walked out the door and locked it. When the conversation ended a little after 11, Parker could finally pull up the address Kara gave him for the restaurant. It was a thirty minute walk so he put in his ear buds and started walking. He figured he could get something from Starbucks and still be on time. He grabbed his grande iced coconut milk caramel macchiato from the counter as the song switched to one of his favorite songs.

_Hopelessly lost and broken, shackled to the ground..._

He took in the part of the city he never ventured, as people in suits passed him going either direction. He looked up at the tall buildings with wonder, his mind racing, thinking about how there's a different story behind each window.

_...Whooo—oooo, Time is never wasted on you, Whooo—oooo, You've so much left to lose..._

The sun was shining in the cloudless sky, everything looked so modern and clean compared to his seemingly forgotten neighborhood. He looked up at the L-Corp building, and was thinking about his encounter with the CEO last night, when he spotted her. Supergirl?! Flying out of a top window of the building! His mouth opened slightly and his eyes were wide.

_...Dream—dream—dreamer, You gotta take a bit, take a bit deeper..._

Everyone was too busy rushing past him to notice the hero above them. Parker shook his head, still shocked and continued walking. The song faded out and switched to a new one.

———

He got to the restaurant a few minutes before noon and spotted Kara sitting in a booth. He greeted her with a little wave and a smile and slid in the empty bench across from her and Kara spoke as he did.

"Are those the same clothes from last night?" Kara asked.

"Yeah I crashed on Maggie's couch last night. That thing is so comfortable."

"Oh, I know!" Kara agreed, "I was about to text you the address of a bar with great pizza but then I remembered you're too young."

"Oh, it would've been fine. I have my fake–" he stopped himself, but not in time if Kara's expression was anything to go by. His eyebrows raised when he realized what he had just said, "please don't tell Maggie."

Kara just laughed, which put Parker at ease immediately. "It's fine. I won't tell Maggie."

"Thank you," he breathed out and relaxed into his seat, "sorry, I just saw something crazy on my way here. You didn't tell me your girlfriend knew Supergirl!"

"My what? I don't have a girlfriend." Kara said, confused.

"That's what you got from that? And so what, you and Lena are just friends? Pfft okay, sure."

"We are. At least I think we are. I mean I know she's gay but I like boys so I can't possibly..." now Kara was more confused than before.

"So do I. But I also like girls. Which make people think that I have so many options and yet here I am: single as a Pringle." Parker laughed at himself, expecting Kara to be laughing at his withering love life with him. But when he looked back at her, he could see the cogs in her mind overworking. Her crinkled eyebrows raised slightly as she just barely said to herself "oh, shit."

Parker smirked and quickly said "swear jar." Before realizing that what ever was happening was serious. He leaned in on his elbows on the table, "You wanna share with the class? 'oh shit,' what?"

"Lena isn't my girlfriend..."

"We've established–"

"...But I think I want her to be." Kara still had a thinking expression on her face. Parker just sipped his water, waiting for Kara to finish. "I think I like boys and girls."

"Yeah, I got that vibe from you," Parker stated very nonchalantly as the waitress walked over. They gave her their orders and she walked away. "I say you should go for it," Parker continued.

"Go for what?"

"Lena. I mean she clearly has the hots for you, dude."

"Yeah, I don't know. I mean, she has done some questionable things, according to Alex."

"Like?" Before Kara could answer, their food was placed in front of them.

Kara continued, "Well, I have unrestricted access to her office, she said that I was her hero, and she filled my office with flowers."

Parker is laughing nearly to tears at this point and Kara doesn't get it. After he composed himself enough, Parker clarified, "That's so gay! Kara she's so gay for you."

Kara gave him a shy smile at the suggestion, "You really think so?" She asked as he shoved fries in his mouth and nodded his head. Between the new information and the looks Lena was shooting at him last night, there was no doubt in his mind.

With the new revelation, their next step was to figure out how Kara is gonna ask Lena out.

———

It was about 7 when Parker's phone started ringing. He pulled himself from the old engine he was working on, wiped his hands and grabbed his phone from his pocket. Without looking at who it was, he answered, "Parker."

"SHE SAID YES!!" Was screamed from the other end before Parker pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at the name.

"That's awesome, Kara. So how did it go down?"

This prompted Kara to give him a play by play of the evening. Sparing no detail, she explained how she went up to her office, conducted a fake interview with the last question being 'do you want to grab dinner sometime?'

"She blushed, and stuttered and finally said yes. It was so adorable!" Kara gushed.

"I'm glad it all went according to plan."

"Thank you Parker. I don't think I would've even thought about it, had you not said anything."

"Hey, do you think when this all works out, she could introduce me to Supergirl?" Kara laughed but Parker was serious.

"Maybe," is all Kara said before Parker was abruptly ending the conversation.

"Hey Kara, I'm gonna have to call you back. I've got some customers I have to deal with." Kara couldn't even say goodbye before she heard the dial tone of a call ended but she didn't think much of it.

———

Maggie called Parker around 8pm the next day after a full day of unanswered texts. _"Hey this is Parker, leave a message."_ She didn't bother filling his inbox with voicemails, she figured he was just busy. She and Alex ate dinner and discussed cases like they normally did. They went to bed and in the morning Maggie checked her phone for any response. Nothing. At this point, she began to worry and Alex picked up on it. She held her girlfriend from behind as they laid in bed.

"Hey is everything okay?" Alex asked with that voice that always puts Maggie at ease.

Maggie sighed with a heavy heart, "Yeah, it's just Parker. He's been radio silent for a whole day. I know he's probably just busy but I feel it in my gut," she turned to face Alex, "something isn't right."

"Maybe he just lost his phone."

"Maybe. But I'm gonna swing by his place just to make sure he's okay."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"Would you?"

"Of course. He's my family too." Alex reassured, which made Maggie smile with so much adoration. She gave Alex a quick kiss and go out of bed to get dressed.

———

When they got to Parker's apartment, they immediately knew something was wrong when Maggie knocked on the door and it opened. The lock had been busted and the door kicked in. Instinctively, they both drew their guns and proceeded in cautiously. The place was trashed, couch flipped over, drawers emptied on the ground. Maggie investigated the living room while Alex took the bedroom.

"Maggie," Alex called from the bedroom. She walked into the living room, Parker's phone in her now gloved hand, "He's gone."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These last few chapters have been really Parker heavy and I'm sorry if you're not into that. Next chapter will be more Alex/Maggie hopefully.
> 
> catch me on tumblr: @whatever-queer


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the kudos and comments! To show how thankful I am, I made this chapter a little longer and I'm posting it a day after the last chapter. (That, and I also have another essay I gotta write so I'm doing this instead...)

Maggie was using every resource she had looking for her brother. The NCPD refused to make it a real case, so Maggie had to use her vacation days to find him. Once Kara got the news, she scanned the city but came up empty. Alex was looking for finger prints from his apartment and landed a few matches. Winn was searching for any security footage of his apartment and his place of work.

After two days of looking and coming up with nothing, Alex, Maggie, Kara, Winn and Mon-el were standing at the DEO trying to figure out another plan. "Winn did you find anything?" Alex asked, exhausted from the nonstop search.

"Yes actually, I did," he started typing on his keyboard and brought up some footage, "there weren't any cameras by his apartment or in the shop, but there was a gas station nearby with some old security cameras. If you look here," he pointed at the top right corner of the screen at three blurry figures, "it looks like three guys entered the garage, but the camera is on a pivot. So when it moved back the guys were gone with their car."

Alex took a deep sigh and threw her hand on Winn's shoulder briefly, "Thanks Winn."

"Thanks? Really? That's nothing!" Maggie said a few feet away, her patience was wearing thin and she was tired of dead ends. She just wanted her brother back.

"Maggie, it's going to be okay," Alex tried to calm her down.

"No Alex, it's not. I came here because all we have at the precinct is 'an easy bake oven' but we're no closer to finding him, are we?" She stood there for a beat in the now silent DEO.

"We're doing what we can, Mags."

"Well, clearly, it's not good enough!" She raised her voice, not caring who heard.

All eyes were on her and she could feel everything; The pressure from the room, the exhaustion, the panic, the anxiety of it all. She shook her head and spoke again, "You know what? Screw it. I'll deal with this myself."

"Maggie-" She was already walking away.

"I'll find him myself!" She yelled without turning back to the group, without seeing Alex's hurt expression. It was Mon-el who finally broke the silence once Maggie was gone.

"You're right, Alex. He's probably fine. You know, on Daxam we would party for–"

"Shut the fuck up about Daxam!" He was interrupted by Kara of all people, "This isn't Daxam. He hasn't been partying for two days straight because he's not a barbarian like you!"

This started another one of Kara and Mon-el's Daxam vs. Krypton arguments where no one wins. Alex, like most times, broke them up and sent them to separate rooms to cool off. Alex followed Kara into the empty lab, in hopes to get her calm, while Winn took care of Mon-el. As soon as the door closed, Alex gently wrapped Kara in her arms and the girl of steel melted. Some of the anger and frustration she had been holding on to the last two days dissolved into silent sobs. Alex held and comforted her sister, not daring to shed a single tear. She had to be strong right now for Kara, but mostly, she was strong for Maggie. She couldn't let anyone know her heart was breaking with every passing minute.

"We're gonna find him, I promise." Alex didn't know what else to say.

Kara sniffled and wiped her eyes and looked at Alex, "How? Not even Supergirl can help him."

"I don't know how, but we are going to find him."

———

Maggie had been looking over all the evidence for hours now, alone, at her kitchen counter trying to find anything. A little after 11, she heard a knock on her door. She looked through the peep hole and sighed when she saw who was knocking and walked away from the unanswered door.

"Maggie, come on. I know you're in there."

Maggie gave a flat "Go away, Alex." And continued looking at the now memorized evidence.

"Maggie, please." Alex almost begged with such a broken tone. Maggie rolled her eyes and walked back to the door, opening it just enough. She wasn't about to invite Alex in. "What do you want, Danvers?"

Alex took a second before she spoke so she wouldn't cry, "I'm sorry, for whatever I did. You know I'm trying to help. Because I want Parker home too." The sincerity and love laced in Alex's words were not missed by Maggie.

"Danvers, you didn't do anything."

"So why aren't you talking to me?"

Maggie took a deep breath and opened the door wider, silently inviting Alex in. She shut the door softly and started before turning to Alex.

"I'm so pissed. I'm frustrated because I can't find my brother. I've had him back for not even two months and he's taken away from me again," she turns to face Alex and the tears she was hiding are rolling down her face. "We keep getting a lead that just ends up being a dead end. I keep getting my hopes up, only to be let down and I'm tired. I can't sleep, I can't eat, all I can think about are worst case scenarios. I'm so angry at myself and whoever took him and I'm taking out on you. And that's not fair. So I'm sorry, Alex."

Alex closed the gap between them and held Maggie firmly in a reassuring embrace. "I'm here with you, through everything, please don't push me away when it gets hard."

"I'm sorry," Maggie repeated. She's so used to being broken alone. She's used to picking up the pieces by herself and moving on. She wasn't used to someone still being there for her after she pushed away. "Oh god. I yelled at Winn, didn't I?" Maggie mumble against Alex's shoulder.

"I already talked to him. Winn will be fine," Maggie was feeling a lot better and Alex was too. But she told herself she wasn't leaving until she saw that dimpled smile one more time. She gently pulled Maggie away to look her in the eyes, "Kara said fuck. Very loudly. In the middle of the DEO." Maggie mustered up a weak smile, prompting Alex to continue. They talked for a few hours and Maggie was grateful for the distraction because no matter how much she didn't want to admit it, there was nothing she could do without more evidence. They ended up laying in bed, still just talking until Maggie fell asleep for the first time in two days. Alex pressed a kiss to her girlfriend's temple and started moving to leave when a half asleep Maggie stopped her, "Stay." She did as she was told and stayed to be held by Maggie all night.

They slept peacefully into the morning and woke up with each other, happy once again with the familiarity. That is until reality hit Maggie, reminding her of the current situation. Alex new the reason behind her sudden change in demeanor, "We'll find him."

———

Kara woke up with a good morning text from Lena, which made her smile from ear to ear. She sluggishly started her morning routine, brushing her teeth when she could've sworn she heard a heartbeat in her apartment. She cautiously moved to look in her living room and gasped when she saw the roughed up young man on her couch. "Pj!"

The boy groaned and slowly opened his eyes, "Hey, Kara. Your door was unlocked, which is really unsafe. Or so I've been told." He chuckled at his own inside joke.

"What happened to you? Where have you been?" She padded over to him and crouched down to get a better look at the damage. He had a bruised jaw, a black eye, a cut and swollen lip and a few of his fingers had been broken. When she used her x-ray vision she found a few cracked ribs and possible internal bleeding.

"I owed some guys some money and I'm not good at making payments. They wanted to teach me why I need to pay on time."

"Money? For what?" Kara tried to keep her composure and not cry for the clearly broken boy in front of her.

Parker gestured to his chest and continued, "Mostly surgery."

"I'm gonna get you to the hospital."

"No, you can't. I won't be able to afford the bills."

Kara stood and rubbed her forehead, unsure of what to do, "Oh my god, Maggie has been worried sick! I have to call her," Kara moved to retrieve her phone but Parker stopped her as best he could, wincing from the movement.

"You can't tell her what happened. She'll try to find the guys responsible but these guys are tough and slick. And even if she could take them down, me and all of their other clients would go down with them. I just can't risk it." He coughed weakly into his hand, coughing up pure blood.

"You'd better make up a story fast because I'm calling Alex. You need a doctor and if you die on this couch, Maggie will kill me, resurrect you just to kill you again and probably throw away the couch."

"Okay, I get it. Just call her," Kara grabbed her phone and started dialing, "Oh and Kara?"

She looked up before pressing the call button, "Yeah?"

"Thank you. I really owe you."

"Just don't die and we'll be even."

———

Twenty minutes later Maggie comes crashing through Kara's door "Where is he? I'm gonna kill him," She walked straight for her brother when she saw him now sitting up on the couch and hugged him maybe a little too tight. "Actually I'm gonna kill whoever did this to you. What happened?" She used her big sister voice.

"A lot of death threats going around and I think if we all just took a breather–"

"Parker," she held his shoulders and looked him in the eyes, "What. Happened." She switched to her cop voice.

He put his head down, avoiding Maggie's stare "I just got jumped. It's no big deal."

"For three days?" He said nothing. "Okay," she changed targets, "Kara? The truth?"

Parker whipped his head to give a pleading look to Kara, "Please, Kara, don't do it."

She cracked and spilled everything Parker told her. Maggie processed the information, already making a plan of attack, while Alex worked on Parker's injuries.

"Do you think we could get Supergirl on this?" Maggie asked.

"I think she would be happy to help." Kara responded with convincing enthusiasm.

"You guys know Super..." Parker said before falling suddenly unconscious.

"Shit! I can't help him here, we have to get him to the hospital right now!" Alex reported to the other two women.

"He said he can't afford it." Kara countered, now worried.

"Let me worry about that later, but for now, Parker needs Supergirl," Kara nodded her head and changed into her hero's outfit in a matter of seconds and picked up the unconscious boy from her couch gently.

She flew as fast as she could without hurting him anymore. When she landed, Parker was taken from her arms immediately and swept away into another room where the doctors could work on him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know your thoughts on this chapter in the comments or on tumblr! Hopefully I'll get the next chapter out sooner rather than later but really who knows? I'm an inconsistent garbage person so it's a toss up  
> Side note: Parker and Kara's brotp name is officially parkar 
> 
> catch me on tumblr: whatever-queer


	8. Chapter 8

Parker woke up in a hospital room, with sleeping people all around him. Maggie and Alex were cuddled together in the big chair right next to the bed, while Winn and Kara were passed out on the benches that lined the room. He took in the sight of them all looking so peaceful and started feeling emotional. After three years of struggling by himself, three years of having no one by his side, three years of pure loneliness, he finally found his home. He finally had a family. He was pulled out of his thoughts by the door opening quietly and was shocked when Lena Luthor walked through the door.

"Oh... hi, Parker. It's good to see you awake," she whispered, so as not to wake the room, and strolled over to sit on the end of his bed, "how are you feeling?"

"Groggy," he whispered back, "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but what are you doing here?"

"A few things," she looked over to the still sleeping Kara, "But right now let's just say emotional support," she looked back to Parker, "You gave us all quite a scare."

Parker chuckled lightly until his face fell as he was hit with a realization, "I have to get out of here." He moved to get up but was stopped by Lena and the fact that everything in his body hurt. He finally accepted defeat and laid back down, worry written all over his face.

"Woah, easy there. Doctors said you have to recover for a few days. Why are you so eager to leave?" Lena's tone and eyes were soft, a welcome change from their previous interaction.

"The whole reason I got into this mess is because I had medical bills that I couldn't pay. There's no way I can afford any of this." Parker sounded so broken and defeated.

Lena gently grabbed the boy's hand, looked him in the eyes with a still soft expression and huffed out a breathe, "Don't worry, it's been covered. And you have an appointment with the best ftm specialist in National City next week."

"You...?" Tears started brimming his eyes as he held her hand tighter, "I can't repay you."

"I don't want you to. From now on, your medical bills are taken care of, with a few conditions of course."

"Just name it," Parker sat up as much as he could.

"I just want you to say out of trouble," Lena looked around the room before giving the next condition, "and don't tell them it's me. I don't want them to look at me any differently."

Parker thought for a second, his head reeling, trying to figure out what he was supposed to say but settled on, "Okay."

Lena stood up to leave and turned when Parker finally figured out something he deemed worthy for the situation, "I can't thank you enough."

"Be there for Kara, like you have been, and that will be more than enough." Parker was about to respond but his attention was pulled to Alex stirring awake, which allowed Lena to slip out without another word.

Alex's eyes went wide when she finally woke up and saw that Parker was awake. "Hey, Dr. Danvers," Parker greeted her with a groggy tone and a lazy smile.

"Hey, buddy. You're awake!" Alex almost sounded surprised. She gently nudged the woman in her arms until she was awake, "psst... Mags, Parker's awake." With that, Maggie jolted awake and looked around and then to her brother, jumping up to hug him. She held him for maybe a little bit longer than necessary as Alex woke the other two. "Don't scare me like, kid." Maggie said, still hugging him.

"Alright, Mags, let the boy breathe." Alex chuckled. Maggie complied and sat on the edge of the bed with Parker, "How long have you been awake?"

"Not long. What happened? Wh–why am I here?"

"You had some pretty rough internal bleeding, but thankfully, we got you here just in time. You've been out for about a day," Maggie sighed resenting what she had to say next, "Can you guys give us a minute?" Alex led Winn and Kara out turning back to Maggie before closing the door, "We'll be in the cafeteria, I'll grab you something and I have my phone if you need anything."

Maggie responded with a signature dimpled smile and a "Thanks, babe," before turning back to Parker. "Okay, P, I need names."

"Maggie, I can't. They have my name, I'll be taken down with them."

"I won't let that happen."

"You say that but what if you can't protect me from this? And even if you can, what about the others? I'm not the only good person on that list. Are you going to protect them too?"

"I'll try to." He gave a humorless laugh at that.

"If I snitch and they find out it was me, I'm a dead man. This," he gestured at his injured body, "is just what they give out for a couple of missed payments. I'm sorry Elly, I can't."

The long forgotten childhood nickname made Maggie's chest tighten. When Parker was a baby, Maggie went through a phase where she wanted to be called by her middle name, but Parker couldn't say Ellen. So the first thing he called her was Elly, and it stuck as a nickname reserved exclusively for her brother even after she was over that phase.

Maggie was torn. Was she really willing to risk her brother's life to take down this group of thugs or was she going to spare her brother and let them be free to hurt others like they hurt Parker? There had to be another way. Maggie thought for a second and let out a small gasp.

"Were there any aliens on that list?"

"A few, why?"

"Because that means we don't have to do this alone." Maggie grabbed her phone and started dialing. "Alex? Yeah everything is fine. But I think this just turned into your case too."

———

As soon as Alex explained in great detail how the DEO can protect him, Parker was willing to talk. He gave her names, locations, vehicle descriptions everything she needed. He even told her how the garage he works at services all of the thugs vehicles.

Some DEO agents were able to stick one of the cars with a tracker, which led them right to their base of operations. A lead lined warehouse in the heart of the warehouse district.

From there, they could start making a real plan. Winn managed to track down the IP address coming from the warehouse with ease. They had the same computer system as almost every standard office building, so hacking into the system was nothing to Winn. He had his finger on the trigger, ready to corrupt every file leading back to Parker, but Kara, in her Supergirl outfit, stopped him, "They could have physical evidence too. We have to coordinate this just right. We can't give them any warning that we're onto them."

"Supergirl is right," Alex agreed, "We need to do it all at once. I'll get a strike team ready to move out in five." Alex started moving, prompting Kara to follow.

Kara walked a geared up Alex to the black SUV, "Kara, are you sure you want to do this?" Alex asked with a hushed tone, "It's lined with lead, you'll be going in blind."

"So will you," Kara responded with a smirk. Alex nodded, accepting Kara's answer.

———

Despite the action going down, Maggie stayed back at the hospital with Parker. She knew it was where she needed to be. "Are you sure you're feeling okay?"

Parker groaned at the question that's been asked to him a thousand times since he woke up, "For the last time, I'm feeling fine. I will tell you if there's any change." He knew his big sister was just concerned, but he's legally an adult and like any 19 year old, he wanted to not be treated like a child. But, Maggie was still his big sister so if anyone was allowed to treat him like a kid, it was her. "Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, I am really tired of this hospital food," he chuckled, making an exaggerated disgusted face.

Maggie smiled, "Well, when you get out of here, I'll make you what ever you want."

Parker gasped at that, "Gran's lasagna?"

"Yeah, I can do Gran's lasagna. But we're gonna have to make at least double if Kara is coming," they both laughed. Of course Kara is going to be coming to dinner.

"Remember when you wanted to be a vegan, and you cried because you couldn't eat anything Gran made for Easter–"

"–Because she put cheese on everything!" Maggie cut him off, reminiscing with her brother, "And do you remember what she said when I asked her not to put cheese on one thing?"

"'Then it wouldn't be Italian!'" They both said with bad Italian accents. They both were dying at the others terrible impression of their grandmother. The laughter died down, leaving them in a comfortable silence.

"I miss that," Parker finally said longingly.

"Yeah, me too," Maggie agreed, matching his sadness, "but we can't go back," she reminded him.

"But what about for Christmas this year or even thanksgiving? We could–"

"Parker, you know why we can't."

"But–"

"I said no." Maggie said sternly, trying to shit down the idea, "Not after what happened last time."

Thanksgiving 2012, a year before Parker came out to his family, Maggie agreed to go after negotiating with her mother. The deal was that if Maggie didn't bring her girlfriend, they would refrain from being homophobic. And truthfully, Maggie missed her family so she complied. Everything was going well, until Maggie slipped, accidentally mentioning her girlfriend at the time. From there, things spiraled. Her father started throwing around slurs and insults, and of course, Maggie isn't one to back down from a fight so she pushed back. Her uncles joined in, and everyone was forced to pick a side. It damaged the entire family for a while, and Maggie hadn't been back since. She still talked to her mother occasionally, but not as much as she used to.

"I thought we could go there just one more time, for closure, ya know."

Maggie hesitated, she realized she could use some proper closure, but she had to really think about it. She patted his leg, "We'll talk about this when you get out of here. Now, let's see what on tv." She changed the topic as fast as she changed the channels on the older tv mounted on the wall.

The ended up watching Grey's Anatomy reruns and started playfully arguing. Parker was saying that one of the characters looks like Alex, but Maggie couldn't see it. The banter continued until Parker was resting again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry not a lot happened this chapter. Next chapter tho: the DEO raid 
> 
> catch me on tumblr: @whatever-queer


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long. I've had really bad writer block for a while now, and it shows in this chapter. I'm sorry for whatever this garbage is. But enjoy, I guess...

The DEO had agents surrounding the warehouse, armed and ready to storm at Agent Danvers' command. Alex paced back and forth in her tactical gear, making sure every component was in place, "Winn, are you ready?"

"I have the list on an encrypted file, buried in the DEO hard drive, and I'm ready to delete the source with the push of a button," Winn confirmed.

"Good. Supergirl?"

"Ready to drop in."

"Mag–" she stopped herself, almost immediately remembering her girlfriend's absence. She cleared her throat and continued, "Guardian?"

"Affirmative," James growled out. Alex drew her new favorite gun from her thigh, "On my command," she held up her fist and observed their surroundings. When it was safe she spoke in every agents earpiece, "Its go time."

Agents Nguyen and Walker pulled open the large warehouse door and the rest of the team stormed in, guns drawn. All agents flooded in from every entrance, weaving through the large stacked crates lining the perimeter. They walked right into a clearing where four burley men sat at a table. They sprung up when they saw the agents and heard Alex yell, "FBI! Put your hands where I can see them!" They complied and one slowly reached for the gun on the table. Alex whipped her gun to point at him, shaking her head, "I really hope you aren't that stupid," he responded with a challenging look. He lunged for the gun but didn't reach it by the time six agents shot him in non fatal areas, including Alex. The other three men stood there shocked but quiet. _At least the others have half a brain_ , Alex thought before issuing her next command.

"Unit three: detain the suspects and get medic on our wounded friend here. Units one and two: sweep the premises for anymore hostiles."

Kara slipped away to enter the office in the back of the warehouse, scrambling through papers to find the client list. She found it within seconds and looked around, making sure no one was around to see her steal it. She turned to leave but something caught her eye. Looking closer, she found instructions for something, with the Cadmus logo on full display in the top corner. Kara furrowed her brow, trying to decipher the equations and chicken scratch notes. After briefly studying the papers, Kara decides that they'll be valuable and tucks them away to rejoin everyone else.

When they didn't find anyone else in the warehouse, the agents started investigating the crates as Alex oversaw it all. Kara came up from behind her and softly nudged her, presenting the papers she had found. "I found something. Maybe you'll be able to make sense of these hieroglyphics."

Alex looked over it for a second, her eyes widening with every line, "Kara, where did you find this?"

"The office back there. Why? What is it?"

Right when Alex was about to explain, she heard Agent Vasquez yell from the crates, "Danvers! You're gonna wanna see this!"

Both Supergirl and Alex rushed over to see what the crates contained, "Oh shit..."

———

Parker shot up from his slumber, panicked look in his eyes. Maggie was by his side, calming him down in a heartbeat, "Hey, P, you're okay."

He mumbled a realization to himself but Maggie couldn't understand it, "Sorry, what? I didn't quite catch that, Par–"

"They want to wipe out the aliens!"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

He had gotten enough rest for his memory to become clear as he remembered everything, "The guys that took me, who ever they work for is out to kill all the aliens in national city. I heard them talking about it when they thought I was unconscious. They were talking about medusa, and 'this time we'll get it right.'"

Maggie sat there, worry written all over her face, "One sec, Parker, I have to call Alex."

———

Alex stood, looking at the contents of the crates, confused. She was focused, trying to figure out what they were looking at when her concentration was broken by her cell phone ringing. She answered when she saw the caller ID, "Hey Maggie, what's up? Yeah...? Okay yeah, that makes sense... no we found some devices, we just didn't know what they were for. I'm glad he's okay, tell him to rest and we'll see you both once this is all done." Alex didn't miss Kara's concerned looks.

"So Cadmus wants to wipe out aliens and I think that's what these are for," Alex explained as she picked up one of the small glowing orange orbs, examining it further. It was made of glass and looked like it would be some type of bomb. Each crate held about one hundred of these things. They were in a warehouse filled with the crates. Alex looked at the paper Kara handed her earlier, reading the equations and drawings. She muttered something to herself but Kara heard it.

"Alex, what did you just say?" It took a second for Kara to process what her sister had just said.

"We walked right into their trap," Alex repeated at a normal volume, then went to her com, "All units fall back! I repeat, all units fall back! Everybody clear out!" The slight panic in her tone was not lost on the trained agents, nor on Kara.

"What are you talking about?!"

"They aren't going to wipe out aliens with these. They're only here to distract us. These are bombs. They're ready to go off by remote detonation at any second so we need to get everyone out of here." Alex led her team to the opened doors and stood by the exit, seeing that her people got out. They started evacuating everybody as fast as they could but it wasn't fast enough. The last three agents were almost out when the first crate exploded, causing an almost instant chain reaction. Alex got thrown back and slammed into one of the nearby SUVs, hitting her head hard, before blacking out.

———

When she woke up, she was in the hospital again. Only she was the one in the bed and Parker was sitting by her bedside. He looked at her with a soft expression, "Hey, glad you decided to finally join us."

"Where's Maggie?"

Parker took a deep sigh and his demeanor changed to sorrowful, "Alex, Maggie has been dead for 15 years."

Alex just laughed and pushed his shoulder, causing him to laugh with her and break his character, "Fuck off! I'm not that stupid. Really where is she?"

"She went to go get some coffee," Parker gave her the truth this time.

"You get discharged?"

"Yeah about an hour ago." Before Alex could respond, she heard Maggie from the hall.

"You guys need to stop getting hurt I'm tired of this hospital coffee," she walked in with two coffees in hand, pausing when she saw Alex and letting out a sigh of relief. "You're awake."

"How long was I out?" Alex asked.

"Not long, only a few hours," Maggie answered, setting down the two cups in her hand and walking over to Alex. She grabbed her face gently and connected their lips for a second. When they disconnected, Maggie rested her forehead on Alex's, "Now, lets see about getting you out of here."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tumblr: whatever-queer


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a few things: first off, last chapter was pretty short so this one is longer than usual. Second, we're jumping ahead a few months because why not. Third, I love reading your comments and lastly, there's no graphic abuse but abusive tendencies mentioned so if that may trigger you, please don't read it.

Alex and Maggie were enjoying their lazy sunday in August, cuddled together on the couch when Maggie’s phone started buzzing on the coffee table. Alex didn’t recognize the number, but Maggie did. Or at least the area code. It was a 402 number. Maggie’s heart dropped and she froze.

"Mags? Maggie. Are you gonna answer it?" Alex’s voice pulled her from her own head and back to the real world where her phone was still ringing. She considered letting it go to voicemail for only a second before answering it with a signature “Sawyer.”

Alex knew Maggie pretty well. She could usually read her girlfriend’s expressions with no problem, but not this time. Alex had never seen her look so… small. But after a second, she relaxed ever so slightly.

“Hey, Carmen how is—“ her sentence was cut off by the person on the other line, followed by “yeah” and “okay” and a lot of nodding. “And you’re sure she asked for us?” she questioned, “Fine. We’ll get on the first flight we can. I love you too and I’ll see you soon.” Maggie ended the phone call and sprung up from the couch, bound for their bedroom before she felt Alex’s hand on her elbow.

“Woah there, speed racer, you wanna fill me in?”

“Sorry, I… Uh… It’s my mom.” Maggie managed out. She was met with a quiet “oh” from Alex, prompting her to continue. “There was an accident and she asked for Parker and I. And she said Parker. She wants her son.” There was a faint smile on Maggie’s face for the thought of her mother finally accepting her brother for his true self. “I have to call P and pack a bag and book the earliest flight for us.”

Alex followed a rushing Maggie to their bedroom and leaned against the door frame, just watching her frantically pack a small suitcase. When they decided to move in together, they looked for two bedroom apartments and made sure the master had a door. They deemed it a necessity after the third time Kara walked— or rather flew— in on them in compromising positions.

“Does ‘us’ include your amazing girlfriend?” Alex asked lightly.

Maggie paused at the question, “I’m not sure. I’ll have to call her later and find out,” she shot back with a smirk.

Alex made her way to Maggie and faced her, taking both of her hands in her own. “I’m serious. I know this won’t be easy for you and I want to be there for you.” Maggie was at a loss for words. Of course she wanted Alex there but she would never ask her to come with her. She didn’t want to put Alex through that. Ultimately, she determined that Alex is her own person, who can make her own decisions.

“I’ll call Parker and book the flights while you pack for a few days.” Before she could slip away, Alex stopped her once again and kissed her, stopping Maggie in her tracks.

“I love you,” she said softly. She tapped Maggie’s butt as she continued, “now go! Call your brother and get us some good seats!” Maggie walked away with a wide grin on her face, put there by the adoration she felt for her girlfriend, going to get things sorted for their last minute trip. Alex texted J’onn and Kara, letting them know that she was going out of town for a few days due to a family emergency.

 **Kara[1:47pm]:** im fine alex. omg what happened to eliza????

 **Alex[1:48pm]:** Different family, Kara

 **Kara[1:48pm]:** is it pj again? cuz hes my family too  
  
**Alex[1:50pm]:** Parker is okay, I’ll call you when I can.

Alex was just finishing up packing their bags as Maggie walked back into the room and greeted her by wrapping her arms around Alex’s waist from behind, kissing her shoulder. “Our flight leaves at 9am tomorrow. Parker’s packing right now, we’ll pick him up in the morning.”

———

When something startled Alex awake, she immediately noticed the lack of Maggie by her side. Looking at the clock, it took her a moment to process the numbers reading 3:16 am. She looked around the room, trying to figure out where her girlfriend was without having to move from the warmth of the bed, with no success. She stumbled out from under the covers and wandered out of the room, still half asleep. If Maggie wasn’t in bed, and she wasn’t in the bathroom, that only left one place.

Turning the corner from the hall, Alex saw that her hunch was right. She’d never get tired of seeing Maggie sitting in their bow window, knees to her chest, taking in the amazing view of the city.

Maggie hadn’t heard Alex make her way to her until the wood floor creaked under one of her steps. So when she instinctively turned to see what broke the usual silence, she didn’t think to wipe the tears that stained her cheeks. Alex knew she needed to hold Maggie in that moment. So, she wrapped herself around her girlfriend without a moment of hesitation. Not a word was shared. The silence settled once again only breaking with the occasional sniffle from Maggie, but never from either of them speaking. They didn’t need to. Alex knew that if Maggie needed to talk to her about anything, she would, no questions asked.

It didn’t take long after that for Maggie to fall asleep and for Alex to carry her to bed and whisper how much she loves her before submitting to sleep herself. They had to wake up in three hours, anyway.

———

7 o’clock came too fast. When their alarm went off, neither jumped up to turn it off, but eventually Maggie flopped out of bed to defuse the annoying machine and start on coffee. Alex followed a good ten minutes later. They both chugged two cups of coffee before getting dressed and grabbing their bags to head to the Parker’s new place.

When they got there, Parker made his way out to the car with his backpack and nike duffle bag, dragging his feet every step of the way, collapsing into Maggie’s back seat.

“Tired there, bud?” Alex teased and only got a muffled grunt in response.

They made it to the airport and got through security fairly quick. Turns out, not a ton of people are traveling at eight in the morning on mondays. They boarded their flight and luckily got seats together, taking a whole row. Parker called dibs on the window seat and Alex settled in the middle seat. It took about fifteen minutes after takeoff for Maggie and Alex to fall asleep on each other and didn’t wake up until they started their descent into Lincoln.

Alex filled Kara in on everything on the drive to Blue Springs and Kara offered to fly there for support. “I will come kick bigot butt if I have to. I can be there in ten minutes. I’m leaving right now!”

“No! Kara. We will be okay. I will call you if we need you. Here, Parker wants to talk to you.” Alex handed over her phone to the boy in the back seat.

“Hey, special K!” Parker greeted her with his usual enthusiasm, making Maggie chuckle from the driver’s seat at the nickname he gave the superhero. She still remembers when he pointed to the cereal at the grocery store, laughed to himself and finally said “look it’s Kara” and the nickname stuck. Only with Parker though.

“PJ! How are you feeling about being back home?”

“Nervous. Kind of. I mean this place isn’t really my home, not anymore. I’ve found my real home in National City.” He found his tone turning too sincere too quick and was dangerously close to real emotions. “Anyway, enough of that sappy crap. You want me to bring you back a souvenir? I know about ten places I can get you a bedazzled camo hat.”

———

An hour later, the roads started looking more familiar and the energy in the car started to shift to more tense. They pulled into the hospitals parking lot and Maggie hesitated, froze even. Until Alex ran a hand down her arm, intertwining their fingers at the end. It was Parker who broke the silence with an innocent, heavy question. “Should we go in?”

Maggie gave a rigid nod and a “yeah,” but didn’t move for another minute. She blew out one last sigh, “Okay, I’m good. Let’s get in there.”

The sterile air hit the trio immediately. That air will never let you forget where you are. They were greeted at the front desk and directed to the room of Michelle Sawyer. No one knew what to expect when they opened that door, but it certainly wasn't that.

Both Maggie and Parker stopped to take in the state of their sleeping mother. The cast on her arm being the first thing they noticed, then the scrapes and bruises. They scanned the room, noticing the lack of people. They were thinking they'd have to face their father and maybe a few cousins, aunts or uncles. But there was nothing. The whole scene moved Maggie in an unfamiliar way. She hadn't even realized she was crying until she felt Alex wipe a tear from her cheek. "I know, baby. This isn't easy but I'm here," she whispered taking her hand from Maggie's cheek and grabbed Parker's, "for both of you."

Before either Sawyer could respond, a middle aged woman walked in, garnering their attention. Maggie immediately relaxed at the sight of the woman, "Aunt Carmen!" She closed the gap with a few strides and hugged her, "Where is everybody?"

“Your cousins stopped coming around after a week, they had to go back to work. And we haven’t heard from your father in three days. He just left without a word,” Carmen explained.

“Did he… Was this him?” Parker asked behind Maggie.

“Oh, god no. It was a car accident. Jack may be an awful man, but I think we all know my sister would end him before he had the chance to raise a fist." Parker blew out a sigh of relief. Their father had never beaten any member of his family but was still a violent man when angry. Slammed doors, holes punched in walls, smashed vases, all accompanied by lots and lots of yelling. The memories still engrained into both Maggie and Parker's minds. He'd never beaten his family but they were certain he was capable of it.

Carmen continued, "She’s only been awake for a few days. The first thing she asked for was you two. We should let her sleep for now, but Shob is going to be so excited you two are here!"

"Shob?" Alex whispered to Maggie, questioning the unusual nickname while Parker started catching up with his aunt.

"When Carmen was just a baby, she couldn't pronounce Michelle. When she tried, it came out as 'Shob' and it just stuck." Maggie whispered back.

"So Maggie," both women's attention was shifted to Carmen once again, "Who's your friend?"

"Oh, right! Sorry. Alex, this is my Aunt Carmen, she was the one that took me in after... ya know. And Aunt Carmen, this is Alex..." there was a moment of hesitation in Maggie as the two shook hands. When they dropped the brief handshake, Maggie grabbed Alex's hand and pulled closer to her before she continued, "...my girlfriend."

Carmen gasped at her niece, "And you let me just shake her hand? Oh no no no," she said as she pulled Alex in to a hug. "I'm so sorry I had no idea you were almost family," she apologized to Alex. Parker laughed at his sister's embarrassment, shooting her immature looks as Maggie reciprocated.

———

Only an hour later, Michelle started to stir awake and everyone shot up and moved to be by her bed, while Alex decided to hang back a bit. When she opened her eyes, they focused on her daughter standing over her. She stared for a minute, not knowing whether she was dreaming or not. With tears welling up in her eyes, she grasped Maggie's hand and brought it to her cheek. Her daughter who she hasn't seen in years, "Margaret?"

Maggie chuckled through some tears of her own, "I'm here mama. Don't worry, it's really me."

Her mother gave her an emotional smile, which switch to light concern a second later. She looked to the other side of her bed, "Where's your brother?"

Maggie forgot how to breathe for just a moment because it was the first time she heard her mom acknowledge that she has a son. "Parker just went to the bathroom, he'll be here in just a sec."

The boy in question walked in a moment later holding and eating a bag of pretzels, "I know I should've asked if you guys wanted anythi—" he stopped and cut himself off when he saw his mother awake and looking at him with caring eyes. "Mom!" He breathed out but didn't move.

"Come here, son. Come give your mother a hug." The tears started flowing as soon as he heard her say "son" and he almost ran to her from the doorway pulling her into a careful embrace. When they separated, Michelle looked to Carmen at the foot of her bed, "Jack?"

Her sister knew what she was asking, "Still nothing," Carmen answered.

"Good," she said softly. Her attention was turned to Maggie, who grabbed Alex's hand again —much like she did when introducing her to Carmen— and turned to Michelle, "Mama, this is Alex. She's my girlfriend." Maggie sat in anticipation for a few seconds, waiting for her mother's approval. She smiled at her daughter and held out a hand for Alex, "It's very nice to meet you, Alex." Maggie relaxed as she pulled a chair close to the bed. "Can you give us the room?" Michelle asked and everyone but Maggie left to go sit in the waiting room.

———

Two hours later, Alex started getting fidgety and nervous, glancing towards the room every few minute. "What do you think is taking so long?" Alex asked Parker sitting next to her.

"No idea," he replied without taking his eyes off of his phone, "why?"

"It's just... do you think she liked me?" Alex never really cared about what people thought of her but this might be her future mother in law they're talking about.

"I don't think she's interacted with you enough to form an opinion." When Alex didn't respond he paused what he was doing on his phone and looked her in the eyes, "Alex, I have never like any girl that Maggie has dated. I always thought that no one was good enough for my sister."

"Wow, thanks, Par," Alex said sarcastically.

"You didn't let me finish. Ten minutes after meeting you, I knew that I couldn't say that anymore. I knew that you were different. And she will see that too, I guarantee it," Parker held sincere eye contact to make sure he got his point across.

Alex hugged him for maybe a little longer than necessary but neither cared, "Thank you." They separated when they heard the door to the room open. Maggie walked out drying her eyes and trying to control her sniffling. She made a b-line to her girlfriend who was now standing. She didn't even wait for Alex to ask what's wrong before she captured her lips with her own. It was a quick, but passionate kiss.

"What was that for?" Alex asked quietly.

Maggie just looked at Alex with so much love, shook her head, and said "I love you." Even after months of saying it, those three words still made Alex's stomach flip every time she heard them come out of Maggie's mouth. "Let's go get our stuff settled at the house." They were staying at Maggie and Parker's childhood home while they were there and Alex was so excited to see the baby pictures Carmen had promised earlier that day. Parker stood, sliding his phone into his pocket, "You guys can go," he gestured to the door, "I think it's my turn with her." He closed the door behind him and replaced Maggie in the seat next to the bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: you get to know what Maggie and her mom were talking about
> 
> tumblr: whatever-queer


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s been forever since I updated but I found something that I wrote back in May so I might as well post it

They got settled in the guest room that used to be Maggie's bedroom and a few hours later, Parker took his room, while Carmen took the master bedroom. After eating dinner, and completing their nighttime routine, the two women were laying in the queen sized bed. Alex was asleep, cuddling into Maggie's chest but the shorter woman found it hard to sleep as she replayed the conversation she had with her mother in her head.  
—  
 _The door closed behind the last person, leaving a heavy silence between the mother and daughter. Maggie braced herself for what her mom was going to say, expecting her words to be hateful and judgmental._

_Michelle started, "Let me start by saying I'm so sorry. I have wronged you and your brother more than a mother should. From day one, my job was to protect you and I failed. I stood there, silent, as your father threw you out when I should've fought for you."_

_That's definitely not what Maggie expected, "Mama, it's okay."_

_"No it's not, sweetie. I realized too late that you deserved to be loved no matter what." Both were teary-eyed as Maggie grabbed her hand and composed herself as much as she could before speaking, "It's not completely your fault. You didn't scream in my face, you didn't throw me out, dad did that."_

_Michelle handed her daughter a key, "Here."_

_"What's this?" Maggie looked at what was in her hand._

_"The house key. I know Carmen has one but, I think you'll need one too."_  
—  
Maggie was pulled from the memory and Alex stirred awake by a loud crash coming from the hallway, followed by Parker's terrified scream, "MAGGIE, I NEED YOU!" They both sprung up, grabbing their guns from the night stand beside them. They raced towards the screams as fast as they could. When they finally saw what the commotion was all about, Maggie's heart sank and Alex went into tactical mode.

A man stood in Parker's room, pointing a shotgun at the boy, who was pushing himself into the corner with his hands up. "Drop your weapon!" Alex commanded, pointing her own firearm at the intruder, but the man held his ground as Maggie raised a shaking gun. It was hard for her to breathe. Carmen came running seconds later, the same expression on her face as was on Maggie's.

"Jack, what the hell are you doing?!" Carmen yelled. The man look at the doorway where she stood.

"Carmen, this is my house!" He shouted, "And the minute I leave, you invite these two back into our lives?! Does Michelle know they're here?!"

"She invited them!"  
—  
 _"The real reason I invited you and your brother back is so I can make things right. I can never undo what happened but I am going to do everything I can to get my daughter and son back. If you'll let me."_

_Maggie hugged her mom, wiped the tears coming down as quickly as she could and nodded, "I'd really like that."_

_There was a pause between them before Michelle's look turned mischievous, "So Alex, huh?"_

_Maggie weakly rolled her eyes as she laughed, "What about her?"_

_"Is she a good one?"_

_Maggie sighed and chose her next words carefully._  
—  
He lowered his gun at Carmen's words. As soon as he did, Parker all but ran behind his sister and the agent, knowing they'd protect him.

"She what?" Jack held a steady gaze.

"She wanted her son and daughter." Carmen clarified with a shaky voice. Maggie lowered her weapon but Alex just relaxed, still aiming at Jack.

"And who the hell is this?" He shifted his attention to Alex, who finally lowered her handgun. The silence was heavy. Nobody knew what to say. Maggie took a deep breathe to respond before Carmen beat her to it, "It doesn't matter. What matters is that you are way out of line, pointing a gun at your own blood like that. I think you need to go."

"This is my house," he responded with a quiet rage.

"I don't care. Get the fuck out."

Defeated, Jack grabbed a few of his things in anger as Carmen herded everyone into the other guest room.  
—  
 _"I think she's the one, Ma." Maggie hesitated before meeting her mother's eyes. Her mom just smiled and nodded, "Well then. I guess you'll be needing this."_

_She reached into the drawer next to her, pulled out a small velvet box, and handed it to her daughter. Maggie stood surprised for a moment, "Is... What is this?"_

_Michelle tipped her head, "Open it."_

_Maggie's breath caught in her throat, "... it's Grandma's ring. But—"_

_"No buts. Give it to her. Not this very second, but when you’re ready.”_


End file.
